NATIONAL
Debates may seal election
Strategists say the coming presidential debates offer each candidate a rare chance to tilt the campaign one way or the other. Uncommitted voters, whose choices will decide the election, are expected to begin picking their candidate Thursday night. [Page 1a]
Jeanne threatens Florida
A stronger, bigger and faster Hurricane Jeanne battered the Bahamas and headed toward Florida yesterday, prompting hundreds of thousands to shutter homes and evacuate just weeks after Hurricane Frances ravaged the area. [Page 3a]
WORLD
Claims of progress disputed
Despite thwarting attacks and arresting high-profile figures, authorities have made little progress in eradicating Islamic extremism, intelligence and law enforcement officials say. They warn that the Bush administration's upbeat assessment of its successes is overly optimistic. [Page 1a]
U.S. airstrikes target Fallujah
American airstrikes aimed at a militant group's base of operations killed 15 people in the Iraqi city of Fallujah yesterday, hospital officials reported. A U.S. soldier was killed by a homemade bomb in Baghdad, and four Marines died in a series of clashes. [Page 18a]
MARYLAND
Schools open without nurses
Twenty of Baltimore's 39 public high schools started the academic year without any medical personnel on staff because of budget cuts to a $10 million nursing program. School officials say the Health Department pulled its personnel out of the high schools without consulting the administration, but city Health Commissioner Peter L. Beilenson says he warned of the cuts more than two months before the start of the school year. [Page 1b]
Collies on goose patrol
With Maryland's Canada goose population growing at a dizzying clip - more than 75,000 last spring, up from 18,000 in 1990 - managing them has become a tough task. Laurel and other areas turned to trained border collies who stalk the geese and scare them off. Although doubts have been expressed about the dogs' effectiveness, proponents say the geese do go away. [Page 1b]
SPORTS
Riley leads O's to 3-0 win
Matt Riley allowed two hits over six shutout innings, leading the Orioles to a 3-0 victory last night over the Detroit Tigers. Miguel Tejada had a run-scoring groundout, and Rafael Palmeiro hit an RBI single in the first for the Orioles, who won their third straight with their eighth shutout of the season. [Page 1d]
UM routs Duke, 55-21
Joel Statham threw four touchdown passes to offset a number of mistakes, and No. 23 Maryland piled up 685 yards in total offense to beat Duke, 55-21. For the second straight game, Statham was intercepted three times, and charged with three fumbles. [Page 1d]
Navy staves off Vanderbilt
Aaron Polanco threw for 176 yards and ran for 84, including a 22-yard touchdown, as Navy remained undefeated with a 29-26 victory over Vanderbilt. The Midshipmen improved to 4-0 for the first time since opening the 1979 season with six straight wins. [Page 1d]
BUSINESS
Allegany awaits a savior company
When word came recently that a cabinet maker would bring 500 jobs to Allegany County, the biggest economic opportunity in a generation, some residents didn't believe it until the plant began rising up on a former cattle field. The frantic response to American Woodmark Corp.'s arrival paints a disturbing portrait of small-town America's economic fragility. [Page 1a]
Debit or credit? The fees add up
Many shoppers don't realize they are in the middle of an invisible tug-of-war between credit card companies and major retailers in an increasingly cashless society. Whether a customer uses a bank-issued card by using a PIN code or a signature affects the size of the accompanying fee the merchant - and sometimes the customer - must pay. In the few seconds it takes to decide how to use their cards, shoppers collectively decide the fate of billions of dollars in charges. [Page 1c]
High-tech in low-wage Caroline
Caroline is one of Maryland's poorest counties, but technologically it is well ahead of many more affluent areas. It's a story repeated in many communities across the country where computer enthusiasts in local governments or school systems are using creative thinking and financing to help bridge the "digital divide." [Page 1c]
TODAY
Derided here, sculptor wows N.Y.
Jonathan Borofsky, the sculptor whose 50-foot Male/Female aluminum figure at Pennsylvania Station has raised eyebrows and ire in Baltimore, is getting a much warmer welcome with his towering new installation in midtown Manhattan, Walking to the Sky. But in part, both pieces are about balance, Borofsky says. [Page 2e]
Wilson's lost `Smile' returns
Nearly 40 years after he abandoned it in a haze of drugs and depression, former Beach Boy Brian Wilson has remade the legendary album called Smile. Scheduled to be released Tuesday, Smile tells the story of America, from Plymouth Rock to California. [Page 6e]
Comfort food, well-marbled
In high-end restaurants across the country, it's suddenly as if nouvelle cuisine, fusion fare and small plates never happened. Chic steakhouses are proliferating, and diners - even the sophisticated eaters - are enjoying slabs of beef again. [Page 1n]
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"It's a travesty. I understand budget crunches, but when it comes to having a healthy child in a classroom, it's important to have a nurse."
Polytechnic Institute Principal Barney J. Wilson on the lack of nurses at city schools (Article, Page 1B)
Riley picks up a win
TODAY ONLINE
STRIFE IN SUDAM
Read Sun foreign correspondent John Murphy's latest dispatch on the crisis in Sudan, along with archived coverage of Africa. www.baltimoresun.com/africa
REPLAY RETURNS
Replay Sun High School Sports kicks off its new season tonight. Watch at 11:50 p.m. on ABC2, and keep up online with our high school sports gallery of stories, photos and schedules. www.baltimoresun.com/highschool
